


Matters of Genealogy

by clefairytea



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Clefairy's Holiday Fic Request Fest, Crime Siblings, Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21771736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clefairytea/pseuds/clefairytea
Summary: Moominmamma didn't really think anything in particular about Snufkin, the first time they met.It seems like a terrible thing to say now, but one doesn’t always know how important someone will be on first meetings. And there had been so much going on, with the comet approaching and supplies to pack and shelter to find, she hadn’t really had the time to look at him more carefully.Moomintroll had simply come home one day with Snufkin, Snorkmaiden and Snork in tow, the comet burning brighter and brighter overhead. In that moment, all Moominmamma had seen was two little boys and one little girl who had no Mamma to care for them on such a frightening day. And that had been all she needed to know.So she hadn’t thought twice about how familiar Snufkin’s face seemed. With the comet looming so hot and red in the sky, any little child would have looked like someone she cared about.--Mamma ponders Snufkin and Little My's lineage.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 257





	Matters of Genealogy

**Author's Note:**

> Another holiday request on Tumblr! Sorry, I feel bad for spamming so many of them but I ended up writing a lot of them, haha.
> 
> Drug use warning, kinda?

Moominmamma didn't really think anything in particular about Snufkin, the first time they met.

It seems like a terrible thing to say now, but one doesn’t always know how important someone will be on first meetings. And there had been so much going on, with the comet approaching and supplies to pack and shelter to find, she hadn’t really had the time to look at him more carefully.

Moomintroll had simply come home one day with Snufkin, Snorkmaiden and Snork in tow, the comet burning brighter and brighter overhead. In that moment, all Moominmamma had seen was two little boys and one little girl who had no Mamma to care for them on such a frightening day. And that had been all she needed to know.

So she hadn’t thought twice about how familiar Snufkin’s face seemed. With the comet looming so hot and red in the sky, any little child would have looked like someone she cared about.

She didn’t think about it again until one day, she found Snufkin’s mouth-organ in the fridge.

For a second, she simply stared at it. She did not know very much about music, so perhaps there was something about keeping one’s instruments cold that improved the sound. Yet it was squashed awkwardly between a pair of wrapped jam-sandwiches. It certainly did not look intentional.

“Moomintroll?” she asked, glanced over her shoulder, at where her son and Snorkmaiden were reading and eating peaches at the kitchen table. “Why is Snufkin’s mouth-organ in the fridge?”

To her surprise, Moomintroll did not look as though this startled him. He just sighed and closed his book.

“He helped me tidy up after lunch,” he said, coming over to take the mouth-organ out of the fridge.

Well, yes, Snufkin was a very sweet boy, Mamma thought, but that did not answer her question.

“Oh, honestly,” Snorkmaiden said, looking across at the mouth-organ. “You’d never think it looking at him, but he can be such a _scatterbrain_ sometimes.”

“He isn’t! He’s just thinking about a lot of clever things all the time, so he gets distracted,” Moomintroll said defensively. “Though…he probably is wandering around with a jam sandwich in his pocket right now.”

“He’s completely scatter-brained,” Snorkmaiden said, though not without fondness. “Remember that time he wished me a happy birthday a week _before_ my birthday?”

“Now, now. It is terribly easy to get mixed up with the dates,” Mamma said. “He probably thought it was five _to_ summer, not five _past_ summer.”

“Well that’s all well and good, but then he came back a week _after_ my birthday and did it again!” Snorkmaiden said. “And when I told him it had been two weeks, not one, he just went ‘Oh…has it been?’. Then he laughed and gave me another present anyway!”

“Alright, that is a _little_ scatter-brained,” Moomintroll admitted, glancing down at the cold mouth-organ in his paw. “Either way, I better get this back to him. He doesn’t own many things, but he’s very particular about what he has.”

“Seriously. He’ll get himself into a right tizzy if he realises it’s gone,” Snorkmaiden added, giggling. “Besides, he might end up blowing jam on someone.”

“Oh, he’d really be embarrassed if he did that!” Moomintroll said, looking distressed at the mere thought.

“Yes, you better run, dear,” Mamma said, putting a paw to Moomintroll’s back and urging him out of the door. He gave her a little nod and a smile and rushed off.

She looked at the plate of jam sandwiches in the fridge.

What an odd mistake for Snufkin to make. She continued to think about it as she prepared supper.

Yes, Snufkin was a little eccentric, but scatter-brained? She’d never thought to apply the word to him. It fit better than she could have anticipated. She supposed with him being so taciturn it was hard to tell such things about him. The question was why it felt so familiar.

She opened the ice-box and found a very clean mug sitting in there, waiting for her.

Scatter-brained indeed. Yet, strangely, terribly familiar.

****

The Mymble did not keep men for very long.

This was not for lack of trying…on the men’s part.

Mamma had asked once if she would ever like a husband. Mamma didn’t think it was a particularly funny question, but the Mymble had laughed until she wept.

“No, no!” she managed to wheeze eventually, dabbing her eyes with her fur stole. “That would be no fun at all! I understand why one chap might be more fun for you – you can get very adventurous with them, after you’ve broken them in a bit – but I simply love variety!” 

Mamma nodded and thought how splendid it was that people who as lived differently as herself and the Mymble could be friends. Then they opened the bottle of gin Mymble had brought with her (a gift from one of her chaps, just before his bottom hit the curb), and the subject was forgotten.

The point was, nobody knew who Little My’s father was. And Mamma was no exception.

Little My, for her part, didn’t care a jot. Snufkin couldn’t hide his curiousity about who left him in a basket one faithful day, but Little My’s indifference was entirely sincere. She knew her own mind fantastically well, that child, and Mamma respected her for it. If she was not interested in her parentage, Mamma wouldn’t interfere.

Yet when Moomintroll rushed home with Little My bundled in his arms, she had reason to wonder.

“Mamma! Mamma!” he cried, bursting into the house, Sniff close on his tail. Little My writhed and wriggled in his arms.

“Now, whatever is the matter, dear?” Mamma said, drying her paws on a tea-towel.

“Little My’s went mad!” Sniff moaned. Little My seemed to find this fantastically hilarious, and started cackling, finally lifting her face from Moomintroll’s fur. Her pupils were enormous, shiny black with only the tiniest ring of green around them.

“She’s not mad, she just – I don’t know!” Moomintroll pleaded, trying to keep Little My under control in his arms, “we were walking and we passed this shrub and Little My just sort of…she sort of dove into it and started rolling around in it and chewing the leaves!”

Little My finally managed to drop out of Moomintroll’s arms and started dashing around the kitchen on all fours, occasionally flopping down to roll around on the linoleum. All the while she made a low rumbling noise Mamma had never heard her make before.

Mamma was again struck by the feeling of familiarity. She’d seen this before, in an old friend. She hadn’t thought of those evenings in a long time – how young and rambunctious they’d all been then! – but she certainly hadn’t forgotten.

“Well, that sounds very odd,” Mamma said, trying to keep a straight face. “Now, that plant –“

“ _I_ was clever enough to take a sample of it,” Sniff interrupted, producing a few leaves.

“You just wanted to sell it!” Moomintroll scolded.

“I really think you shouldn’t sell it, dear,” Mamma said firmly. “You’ll get in trouble.”

“What, for selling _leaves_?” Sniff said, putting his paws on his hips. “You can’t get in trouble for selling leaves!”

“Oh, for certain leaves you can,” she said, and took the plant from Sniff’s paw. It was pale and smelled a little minty. Just as she’d expected. “Now, I will tell Pappa about all of this, and in the meantime we should all steer clear of that plant.”

Little My pounced on Mamma’s tail, gnawing on it. Mamma tried to pull it out of her grip but she seemed to find this a delightful little game.

“Really, Mamma,” Moomintroll said, looking down at Little My with concern. “Is Little My going to be okay?”

“Of course she will, dear,” she said, and bent down to scoop Little My into her arms. To everyone’s surprise, she went soft and sweet as a kitten and rubbed her face against Mamma’s arm. “I promise, this will wear off before long. Until then, I’ll take care of her. You two just come back later.”

Moomintroll and Sniff exchanged an uncertain glance, but obeyed, heading back outside. Mamma returned to the veranda, Little My still making a noise like a little jet engine in her arms and drooling on her fur.

“Hullo Mamma,” Snufkin greeted her as she emerged, voice a little slurred. He was practically melting against the veranda railing, his pupils just as huge and black as Little My’s. Behind him, Snorkmaiden gave Mamma a helpless look.

“Is Moomintroll home?” he said, rubbing his cheek against a post. “He sent me to look at an interesting plant. I don’t know what it was…it’s wonderful though.”

He started giggling, and that set Little My off cackling as well.

Oh dear.

Pappa really needed to move that plant.

****

Mamma put it out of her mind. Many creatures were affected by _nepeta cataria_ , after all.

Yet she was forced to think on it again, after Little My and Snufkin’s wanted posters started appearing around Moominvalley.

Quite swiftly, she and Pappa decided to go about the valley and peel them all down. It was a nonsense, after all. The two of them were delightful children, and anything they did wrong according to the police was quite right by her.

“Sewing hattifatteners, ripping down signs, liberating circus animals…” Pappa read off the charges and then beamed. “Why, they’re almost as exciting as my chums and I were in our youth!”

“I did wonder where that tiger came from the other week,” Mamma said mildly, using a knife to peel off a poster (one never did it with one’s paws - some people stuck rather nasty things on the other side). She took the poster down and looked at it, those two sketches of Little My and Snufkin, side by side. They were good sketches, quite a likeness, even if it made them look much nastier than they really were.

“Have you ever noticed that Little My and Snufkin have the same nose?” she said suddenly.

“What’s that dear?” Pappa asked, clambering up to grab a poster an awkward length up a tree.

“It’s the exact same nose,” she said, more certainly this time. “I’m not sure how I never noticed it before.”

Pappa dropped down beside her (she caught onto him to stop him falling over) and peered over her shoulder.

“Why, you’re quite right!” Pappa said. “I suppose they do. Quite the big schnoz for mumriks, as well. They’re not lucky enough to have the dignified profile we trolls do.”

“Well, I’m not sure about that. I remember a friend of ours who had such a big nose too,” she said, but Pappa was staring at her in that silly way he always when he got to thinking about their daring youth together. He was clearly not listening to her in the least.

“Well my dear, no-one has ever had a fine a nose as yours!” he said, nuzzling her. She laughed.

“You’re very silly, darling,” she said, giving him a quick nuzzle back. “Now, shall we get the rest of these posters?”

“Ha! These posters and their tiny rap sheets!” he said, suddenly full of as much energy as he had when they first met. “How about we cause some trouble ourselves, dear, and get our old posters put back up! They won’t give a jot about these silly children after they’ve had us to deal with.”

Oh, it was so hard to not be pulled along when Pappa was being so much fun. She smiled at him.

“Not too much trouble though,” she said, “we have to be back in time for supper.”

“Ah, we shall dine out under the stars, my dear!” he said, even though Mamma knew he’d shiver and complain of the chill if they tried. He took her paw grandly. “First, though, I have an idea I daresay you’d find quite exciting.”

By the time they made their escape from a very angry Park Keeper, Moominmamma had entirely forgotten about big noses and old friends.

****

It turned out that their little prank on the Park Keeper wasn’t exactly enough to stop the police looking for Snufkin and Little My. They’d just had a lovely long dinner with everyone (even Snufkin, who would suffer being inside a house for apple crumble). They were all so full that nobody could quite build up the energy to head to bed yet, so they all lay chatting in the living room.

Mamma had finally finished making that interesting lemon liqueur Snufkin had told her about, so they all sat enjoying it. Sniff had fallen asleep curled in a sweet little ball on the sofa, having been knocked sideways by just a taste of liqueur. Mamma sat knitting, preparing a nice pair of mittens for Snorkmaiden to wear in the colder weather. Snufkin perched on the windowsill, playing a little tune on his mouth-organ, while Moomintroll and Pappa decided what parlour games they should play int the evening. The rain outside pattered against the roof, and Mamma could rarely recall being more content.

Just as it was Pappa’s turn at charades, they were interrupted by a rap at the door and a booming ‘Open up!’.

Mamma froze, wondering if she should snatch up her frying pan, but Little My and Snufkin only looked at each other and nodded. The next few things happened very quickly. Little My untied her hair and sat in Snorkmaiden’s lap, who began to brush her hair out. Snufkin took off his hat and coat and bundled them into a ball, hurling them into Moomintroll’s arms, who ran and stuffed them inside the oven. After Little My’s hair brushed out, Snorkmaiden hopped over and brushed Snufkin’s, as he corrected the buttons on his shirt and tucked it in neatly. Little My accepted a mascara wand from Snorkmaiden and swiped it over her eyelashes.

This sudden flurry of activity over, Mamma suddenly had two lovely little mymble children in her living room.

If she didn’t know better, she would swear that she had never met either of them before.

Pappa opened the door and the police-woman charged in, as police tended to.

“Now, hand them over!” she said, holding Little My and Snufkin’s wanted poster in her paw. “I have it on good authority you’re harbouring these _fugitives_ in here.”

“Fugitives? Why, there’s nobody here but me and my family, officer,” Mamma said, covering her limoncello with her knitting (prohibition was long over, but old habits died hard).

“Then who are these two! They don’t look like moomins to me!” the police officer said, jabbing her finger towards Snufkin and Little My.

Mamma braced for Little My to bite that finger right off, but Little My just squeaked and hid behind Snufkin, peeking out from his side.

“I’m Mymble, sir,” Snufkin said, in a tone that suggested he’d spent the past few hours conscientiously folding socks and practicing his times tables. “And this is my little sister, Mymble. We’re mymbles, you see.”

“Don’t get smart!” the police officer barked. Both Snufkin and Little My stared at her, very wide-eyed. Mamma had never noticed how very orange Snufkin’s hair was, usually hidden under that hat and a great deal of grime.

The police officer had clearly been expecting many things. A great tussle, to tear apart the house hunting those fugitives, perhaps even a gun fight.

She had _not_ been expecting two angelic Mymble children, staring up at her as though they were both about to burst into tears.

“Ey…didn’t I see you two at the circus as well lately?” she asked, eyeing them both. They both looked away, as though they were just barely holding back tears. The police officer was knocked off-balance by this worse than anything.

“Ma’am, please don’t bring that up,” Moomintroll said in a hushed tone. “They’re both still very upset about it.”

“It was very traumatic,” Snorkmaiden added in a stage whisper.

The two of them did enjoy a bit of drama, Moominmamma thought, barely managing to hide a smile behind her paw.

“Urgh, that’s - just, look!” the police officer said, and jabbed at the poster. “Have any of you seen these two?”

She looked around at them expectantly.

“Never in my life,” Pappa said.

“No, ma’am,” Moomintroll said.

“No,” Snorkmaiden said, gasping and clasping her paws to her cheeks. “My goodness, aren’t they _terribly_ frightening, though?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t,” Snufkin said, and nudging Little My. “Mymble?”

“Sowwy,” Little My said, in the most simpering voice Mamma had heard in her _life_. “I haven’t.”

The police officer turned to Mamma.

Mamma downed her limoncello and put it down on the coffee table with a clink.

“Not even once.”

“Well,” the police officer spluttered. “This is just…we’re just going around telling everyone to be careful. So! Be careful!”

“We will,” Pappa said, standing and steering the officer to the door. “Thank you for the warning.”

“Good luck!” Snufkin called, before Pappa slammed the door in the officer’s face.

As soon as the police officer's heavy footsteps disappeareed, Little My tossed her head back and cackled, kicking her legs.

“HaHaha! ’Good luck’!” she said, grinning at Snufkin. “You’re lucky pigs are born without brains.”

“Yes, well, it’s a good thing you’re so _very_ subtle. ‘Sowwy’. I mean, really,” Snufkin replied, shaking his head but sounding entirely amused.

“Well I think we handled that little issue splendidly. Although, goodness, where did you two learn that trick?” Pappa asked, looking quite impressed. “It would have fooled me, had I not know better!”

The two of them glanced at one another.

“Eh, some bozo thought the two of us were siblings once. So we went along with it,” Little My said, shrugging. Her tone was very casual, but Mamma couldn’t help but think she sounded pleased by the idea.

“It makes for an easy cover, if one needs one,” Snufkin added. “People do tend to believe it.”

“The two of you do look alike,” Snorkmaiden said thoughtfully.

“Ha! He wishes!” Little My said, scraping her hair back into her usual ponytail. “I’m _much_ more handsome.”

This prompted another half-serious half-joking argument from the children. They all agreed Snorkmaiden was the best looking of the four of them, but where everyone else sat was apparently not easily agreed upon.

Mamma thought they were all perfectly adorable children and saw no reason to compare, so she sat silent, looking between Little My and Snufkin again. The more she looked, the more similarities she found.

Anyone, really, would believe they were siblings.

***

Soon all the games were won, all the food eaten, the bottles empty, and, sad as it was, it was time for bed. Snorkmaiden went to put on her pyjamas, staying in her room in Moominhouse for the night. Pappa went to ‘do some writing’ before bed (which meant he would fall asleep at his desk immediately and need to be moved to bed). Moomintroll went to tuck Sniff in and brush his teeth.

That left Snufkin and Little My in the living room. Snufkin was buttoning his coat back up and preparing to head back to his tent for the night. Little My was curled up in front of the fire, and her resemblance to that old friend was so strong Mamma didn’t understand how she’d never seen it before.

“Dears,” she said gently, because one needed to be careful about these things. They both acted so terribly tough, but the truth was the two of them were so sensitive. They both wanted so much they would never ask for, and Mamma was certain she had an opportunity to give them it. The problem was that if she was wrong, she was certain it would hurt them both badly.

“Yes, Moominmamma?” Snufkin said, hefting up his rucksack.

“Have either of you ever put into any thought about who your father is?”

They both froze. Little My’s eyes sprung open, her gaze sharp.

“I suppose so,” Snufkin said, as though it were a terribly embarrassing thing to admit. “One wonders these things, growing up alone with nobody around who looks like you.”

“I haven’t. It’s not like you’d ever be able to tell with my mother anyway,” Little My said with a snort. Mamma hummed.

“Speaking of which, Little My. Has your mother ever, ah, _lost_ one of her many little ones?” she said gently.

Little My said nothing, for so long that Mamma began to think she’d made a mis-step.

“Yeah,” she said, speaking at long-last, face still half-hidden in her arms. “Once. Stupid little brat wandered off and we couldn’t find him.”

Little My was quiet for another moment, and her eyes darted briefly to Snufkin, but then her gaze again focused on the wood grain below her.

“It was bizarre, seeing my mother that upset,” she said, lifting her head a bit. “Ha. Didn’t think she was capable of it.”

Mamma nodded and sank down to sit next to Little My on the floor.

“I think – although I do not want to promise – that I may know where the little one went,” she said gently. “Or at least, where he ended up.”

She looked across at Snufkin. He stood very still, eyes widening as he slowly digested her meaning.

“I don’t suppose you’re looking at anyone else in here?” he asked, fiddling with the strap of his backpack.

“No, dear, just you,” Mamma said, laughing. He just stared, very wide-eyed, and Mamma was more conscious than ever of how this could go wrong. As much as Snufkin tried to act so very grown-up and wise and above all worldly attachments, she knew that if she were wrong, the disappointment would be unbearable.

“As I said, I can’t be sure. I would have to write some letters and perhaps invite some guests if we wanted to be sure,” she said, when he didn’t say anything, “but I won’t do that unless you’d like me to.”

Neither Snufkin or Little My seemed to know what to do with that. Little My stared at the fire, much of her face still buried in her sleeve. She shifted over a little, just enough so that her cheek rested on Mamma’s leg. Snufkin set his rucksack on the ground and came to sit on the other side of Mamma, looking as though he wasn’t quite sure where to put himself.

“May I stay here tonight, Mamma?” he asked politely. “I believe the police may still be looking for me, so perhaps returning to my tent wouldn’t be wise.”

“Of course,” Mamma said, letting them both lean on her. “Take all the time you need.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know "Joxter is also Little My's dad" isn't a popular headcanon but I think it's really cute. The two of them would get along great.


End file.
